yesterday again

so i forgot that after dropping aunt cindy off we then parked the car and went walking and running on signal hill, a beautiful place with views of catalina island and downtown LA, the mountains and Long Beach. It is a steep hill in some places. It can remind one of how out of shape you are or make one feel really good about how much in shape you are.
after that i just wanted to drink water and go to sleep. i didn't get a nap but did go to bed at 9pm. and didn't wake up ill 7:45. wow amazing! santi hadn't made a peep. i went in to get him and there he was standing in his crib smiling his huge smile! i think he'd played awhile in his crib before i woke up.
we went to take aunt cindy to the dr. and then out to breakfast afterwards. after dropping her off we came home and played awhile, then santi and i went for a walk and he fell asleep in the stroller. he took a good long nap and woke up in time for us to go to new life beginnings.
tonight for dinner i made tostadas! and now to go have some tea. i love that it finally feels more like fall here!

funny day

yesterday..tuesday. well the first thing i remember, and perhaps the only thing, is that santi was on my lap and i could tell he was doing his business. he gets this real concentrated look on his face and it turns all red, and i can feel his belly push out and get all hard from, well, you know....
so i put him on my hip and carry him back to change him. when i put him on the bed i notice that the "mess" had leaked out of his diaper onto my shirt, which then got onto my arm. so i'm carefully trying to not get any of it anywhere else and certainly not on the freshly laundered bed spread( becuase it had the same sort of thing happen to it the day before).

so i just take him in the bathroom and strip him, and put him under the water inthe sink. now, i have to dress him careflly without getting poop on him from my shirt and then set him down and get changed myself. i am putting on my new clothes when i see that poop had fallen from my shirt when i so carefully took it off, trying not ot get any in my hair, and onto the floor. aaaahhh...and i had to hurriedly pick it up becuase santi was crawling dangerously close to it.

Great day

yesterday, Sunday, beto and santi and i went up to Culver to go to church. It was a lot of fun. I got to see a lot of really amazing old friends. I always love visiting there. Of course nobody really wanted to see us, just Santiago. he is always the star.
After church Rona and Sherwood (my other parents) took us out to one of my favorite places "le boulangerie" or something spelled similarly. It's a laid back french restaurant with amazing food, nice atmosphere and rude french waiters. not really. need i say more?
we came home to find three nerds sitting in our living room...shelby, mitchie and nina dressed up for Long Beach church's harvest festival that was last night. Marcus and Gabe dressed up as ninja turtles. they made their own costumes and all five of them looked inspiring to say the least. i am so proud of all of them! and CONGRATS TO MARCUS ON HIS AWESOME GRADES! I OWE YOU AN ICE CREAM!

The harvest festival was really fun. lot's of activities and games for the kids, and adults too. the soup buffet was super delicious and then of course there was all the halloween candy.

Santi didn't dress up. We've decided not to participate really in Halloween. Central american's take on Halloween is much more serious and different than here. I was glad beto went last night though because he said it was much different...and better than he expected and was happy he went and got to see how the church "celebrates" the season.

santi had fun but was wiped out. he fell asleep in the car and so that was an easy way to put him to bed. i was so tired too i went to bed at 9pm.

today we had a fun time with aunt cindy. she took us to breakfast at polly's. we came home and played and called "aunt rhonda", our friend from honduras who's visiting her home state of georgia for awhile. then i took a much needed nap and santi's still napping.

tonight we've been invited over to the house of some great friends. they are the parents of my best friend from high school. they just live a few blocks from here where she grew up. i'm really looking forward to it. thanks alan and linda! it'll be a lot of fun.

saturday

when i was "young" saturday's meant sleeping in, at least. but i loooove my morning time with santi. i make my breakfast while he makes his BM, i change him and then we eat breakfast together.

today we relaxed at home and then visited our best friends the Heida's. Today was my friend laura's birthday and they were moving into another house. it's really nice. i like it. and laura got the biggest room opening onto the patio.

there were a lot of old friends there some we hadn't seen in awhile. i love those old friends that you feel comfortable with no matter how much time has past and know you can always be yourself.

we came home and of course santi fell asleep on the way. after his nap we played with him a lot and he watched a movie with daddy while i cleaned the house. then i decided i needed some exercise, at 7:30pm. i thought i'd see at least one person walking, which i did, but i felt awkward being the only mom out with her baby.
santi fell asleep in the stroller which i wasn't expecting because he took a late nap. he didn't get his bath but we'll have time in the morning for that. so now i'm off to be a little productive.

FRIDAY ALREADY?!

wHERE DID the week go? oh well i'm hapy because that means mom's coming home even sooner!
let's see, Wed. was crazy becuase we took Aunt Cindy to her dr. appt. in the morning which is always fun. i mean spendin the time with her. i always look forward to that. we went shopping. I got home and took a pretty long nap actually and i don't think i could've made it thru the whole day without it.
in the p.m we volunteered at New life Beginning's which I love. Beto gave a short devo which is more self-taught with paper in both languages since there are spanish-only ladies too, and everyone likes it more becuase they don't have to sit thru a bilingual lesson and can go at their own pace. wed. he even made up a crossword in both languages. i was very impressed.

we went home and after santi was in bed and all that we crashed.

thursday was a very long day. we got to spend it with family but unfortunataly it was for Charles' dad's funeral. It was way out in Grand Terrace and then we drove to Riverside for the "graveside" service. It's at the National Cementary so they don't actually let you go right to the graveside, but near there in the park. The service was very beautiful. Lovely music and Bible readings and great things said about his dad. Please pray for their family.

Today we got to see Cindy again and she ended up waiting for us in the hospital. we left her in the waiting room and went to get coffee in the cafeteria and when we got back she was done already!

We took her home because she had another appointment further away and asked another friend to take her cuz she knew we were going to go to the pumpkin patch, but we wanted her to go with us! but this appointment was planned later on. So we went home and we were going to go to the pumpkin patch (PA's) but Santi fell asleep. Well, when I tried to put him in his crib he woke up, but then Beto fell asleep for two hours. So I took Santi for a walk towards the end of Beto's nap. When we got back Beto was awake! But santi went to sleep. So after santi'l short nap we finally made it to the PA's (welcome to my world!) It was nice but not for a kid younger than two really. there are rides, pony rides and a petting zoo. and of course hundreds of beautiful pumpkins!

we came home, ate, played, tried to keep santi from eating flowers outside, and now he's down for the night.
thank God he's sleeping thru the night now! but he gets up around 5:30, which I don't mind if I get to sleep early enough. so i better get my chores done so i can get to sleep before it gets too late.

tired

that pretty much sums up my life since having a kid.

On the way home from eating lunch with aunt cindy santi fell asleep in the back seat. I was able to put him in his crib and leave him at home with daddy while i went to the post office, flower shop, and trader joes'. i love doing errands in the late morning before the lunch rush!

After lunch we all three went to bellflower to the application support center. i wasnt sure it even existed at the address i had but we found it. however it wasn't the right place for us. there really isn't a place we could go to get help filling out the form. as the supervisor told me "it's pretty self-explanatory". great. thanks for helping me feel like a complete idiot, becuase i was only half way there before i met you.
he did help a little with some more info. I'll have to fill out the forms again on my own and send them in but with some extra evidential paperwork hopefully we'll get the extension this time.

Beto got his lunch at mcdonald's (fries for me...yea!) and we stopped at heartwell and walked aroudn the little pond and admired the ducks for a good thirty min. or so. santi really loved that. we have to go back again with bread to feed them.

on our way back to the car laura heida called and said she was coming over. and come over she did! she brought cheese, apples and blood orange sparkling juice from trader joe's! we had a fancy little snack, yes we did. she also played with santi while i started some laundry.

i made a chicken soup after she left. santi went to sleep again at 6.20.

i've been working on a surprise for my mom but in case she's reading this from uganda i can't say anything yet .

and now to go to bed an hour earlier than last night...9pm. glorious.
and may i add that i love my husband not just because of this but one reason is that he does laundry and bathes the baby and puts the baby to bed and vacuums, etc. voluntarily as well as leads our little family in daily devotionals (even if they're in the car on the way somewhere sometimes) and prays for us. I love him.

laptop

i love my mother's laptop. i'm glad the house computer is in the shop. this thing is so much faster! i actually get everything done i need to do!

i'm feeling kind of sick so this will be quick and perhaps not too coherent. we'll see.

today beto,santi and i took aunt cindy to her to her dr. appt. and afterwards we went to brunch together. first, from the hospital to Polly's I had to get gas. exiting the station it was impossible to cross oer into the left turn lane. so i decided to go all the way around the block. when i finally did there was no left turn allowed, so we were back at square one, so instead of going to cafe bixby we went to polly's after all, even though it was a little bit further.
then we couldn't turn left on stearns becuase of road work, so we took a short cut which worked out nicely, except on the way back to her house i got a little lost, missed a turn, and ended up going way out of the way and having to go all the way back. but boy were those waffles worth it!

betoand i then did what is becoming for us a 'normal" home depot run. target. and then beto said the sweetest thing to me, "you drop us off and i'll put santi down for a nap so you can finish the errands." honestly it was like music to my ears becuase santi was super tired and cranky and i didnt want to go to the post office with him like that.

so i dropped them off, went to the post office and then to vons for ice cream of course. and i was so excited, they had my favorite flavor, Ben and Jerry's "Everything but the..." . i've not seen it in CA in years. guess my loyalty doesn't only lie with ralph and trader joe anymore. sorry guys.

came home, played with santi a bit but i'm really feeling "under the weather" so i tried to get him to watch "gilmore girls" with me, but he was not into it at all!

later i found a Christian cartoon station. i had no idea! it's like animal planet and instead of commercials they play a short Christian kids song or Bible verse.

we had dinner and santi went to sleep for the night at 6:20! luckyyyyyyyy!
i've been getting business done on the compu ever since! i know now why my mom never sits down. i'm paying bills and doing other errands for her while she's in africa. being an adult even when your kids are grown is so hard!i'm not very good at it.

and with that i take my bag of ricola's to bed with me. nighty night

Not so lazy Sunday

today we walked to church as usual. it's a mile round trip. just right for a sunday. Saw a lot of great friends at church. Well four that i've not seen in awhile. that was fun. Beto and I had a quiet lunch at home and I couldn't get Santi to go to sleep even though I knew he was very tired. He finally took about a 30 min. cat nap but went to bed very easily tonight and i think he'll sleep great through the night.

Laura heida came over (insert crowd screeming sound) and we took a little walk. We talked to our new next door neighbor and his dog Lucy who thinks she's scary but really? She wears a pink collar!

we also ran into my best friend from high school's g.ma and her dog whom we like to call "killer" (the dog, not the grandma). She's always a hoot to talk to. I never LOVED my neighborhood before like i do now. I can take walks in peace and everyone is so friendly.

An old friend from like when I was 2 years old came over too and we gave him nearly all of my dad's old records and cd's. He was very happy. Now all we have to do is buy an Ipod and he can set it up with literally thousands of songs. (put on to do list for tomorrow)

we all went out to eat. we were on our way to Ruby's diner when Nick suggested a mexican food place he'd read about. based on the long line of people we knew it would be good, and it was. Enrique's on Bellflower (i think) close to the marina in Long Beach.

We had a lot of fun.
Santi is doing well. he wants to walk and talk so badly! i wouldn't be surprised if he's walking by the time gma gets home in three weeks.

Hiatus

wednesday night I didn't write becuase we got home late and the computer was on the fritz. We accompanied my mom and Seth to LAX where we had dinner and said good-bye to them on their way to Africa.

thursday I forgot that my mom had left her laptop. i love using it becuase it's so much faster than our other computer. i had to take it to Staples to get it fixed. that'll take about five days.

Friday? I was too tired to write.

It's not been too bad without my mom and Seth here. don't get me wrong, i really miss them, but Santi isn't teething or suffering from Vaccinations like he was before they left. He is a lot more fun to be around now that he's seven months, starting to pull himself up and moving a lot. He sure has been "talking" a lot the past few days too.

The time's going by fast which is good for me becuase i'll get to see mom and Seth again soon, but hopefully their time in Africa goes slowly so they really enjoy themselves and have a good full visit.

At 8:30 every weekday for the next 8 days I'm picking up a friend and taking her to her radiation treatment. Afterwards we go out for brunch and she really loves spending time with Santi. we always have a lot of laughs.

There's always errands to run and my mom's bills to pay.

Yesterday we went down to the beach for a run. It felt so good! I saw some guy feeding a bunch of wild cats on the bluffs. Looks like he rode his bike and took a bunch of food and bowls. interesting....

today it took us until 2pm to get out of the house. Santi is sleeping better now that my mom's not here we're letting him cry himself back to sleep at night when he wakes up and last night, the third, he cried less than the previous two. But we still get up pretty early, around 7 at the latest. So I was preparing all the things i needed to take to the post office but then i had to wait for addresses and bythe time i got them santi was ready for a nap, and when he woke up the post office was closed.

We tried FedEx and there was a line when i entered, and only one guy working. The man in front of me holding a huge box said, "This is a losing battle." as he walked out. some couple was tyring to ship some humongous painting. we decided to go to the carwash instead. afterwards we returned to FedEx, about 45 min. later, and the couple was still there! just finishing up. I decided they would be too expensive anyways after the worker told me the rates.

So we had breakfast for dinner tonight. mmmmm...i took a walk wiht Santi and ran into a few neighbors and had good talks with them.

Please pray for one who is a widow and really having a difficult time with her own health.

We thought we were going to die!

but before i get to the main story, i will drag you by a thread like a newscast and keep the main story till last. so you might jsut scroll down now.
well, the day started like most days. there was rain last night which made me feel all cozy and warm inside.
santi and i were up early and i put him in his bouncy chair which makes him go poo. mom says it should be easy to potty train him.
we took a great nap from about 9-11:30!~
then it was time to go to the "cousin's lunch" in los al...10 total, mostly my mom's and aunt's cousins. it was a lot of fun.
then we went to visit beto at my uncle's apt. but they weren't finished working yet so we went home and played, did chores, and i wrapped a birthday present for my sister mary that my mom bought. Seth and mom are going to Africa tomorrow. Well, they leave tomorrow but won't arrive for two days. Yesterday I wrapped about 12 gifts for my two nephews and one neice who live there. their christmas presents my mom's taking this week so they'll have them in Dec. It really got me into the Christmas spirit already!

Then Glenda, Marcus and Shelby came over. Mary had ordered a whole bunch of washable diapers, but not old fashioned cloth (they are expensive and like disposable style) to take to africa for the baby house. so glenda picked them up because they were closer to her house and came over to bring them and we had KFC for dinner. yum. Santi is starting to eat more foods now and loved the mashed potatoes and gravey!

anywho, Glenda, Beto and I are in the garage doing laundry and looking at Beto's paintings when all of a sudden we hear a extremely loud jet sound. we live near an airport so we're used to the jets but this jet seriously sounded like it was going to crash into our house, which has happened before. well, not to ours but to others around the corner.
we just stopped and looked at each other and grabbed each others hands. and ducked. like that would keep us from getting killed if it did crash into the house! we were afraid to look outside. finally i did and the huge fedex jet was soooo low! i've never seen one so low. and they usually don't go directly over our house. i apologize to glenda for probably bruising her wrist. then it didn't land! it went towards the airport but went back up and circled around. Beto and Marcus got up on the garage roof and noticed it went to the landing path and landed finally at the airport.
we were glad my mom was out getting dinner at the time. she said they can be fined for that!

HILARIOUS!

tODAY Was a great day. Aunt Glenda spent the night last night and this morning we got to hang out. My mom took Beto to work and while she was gone Santi and I went down for our morning nap at around 9. She came back at 10 and we were going to go shopping but i didn't wake up until 10:45 and they had already left. So Santi and I hung out with "uncle" Seth outside on a blanket on the lawn. Santi really likes...loves Seth and they "played" some soccer together. I liked that it was a little chillier today than usual.

While laying on my back on the blanket I looked up into the sky (cuz that's about the only thing you can see while laying on your back outside) and thought I saw an airplane way up in the sky(becuase we live right by the airport) but it was a huge bird. It was way up there and looked huge so it may have been a hawk or vulture. So we kept a closer eye on Santi for a few minutes.

Then Laura Heida called and came over for awhile. She took seth and I shoe shopping and we went to starbucks to get some bags for the Brittons that my mom's going to take to them on Wed.
We had a lot of fun and bought at Payless. Love the BOGO! I got a very cute pair of very soft and furry pink "flip flop" style slippers with little balls dangling on the side, and they "support the cause" for breast cancer.

We came back and santi was still asleep. We'd left him taking his second nap with my mom and aunt G. We all ate leftovers at different times for dinner. Santi got up and Beto said he'd really missed him today, more than usual for some reason, so they hung out while i finished some chores. and then Laura came over again and of course brought some wine. otherwise we don't let her in the house. haha...and we watched one of my favorite comedies...Meet the Fockers. an unfortunate last name but i like it way better than the first. we all laughed our heads off! Joey heida came too so there were 7 of us enjoying it.

after, when my mom came out of the bathroom laura scared her by hiding in her bedroom and jumping out as she walked by. my poor mom reacted so badly laura fel on the floor laughing!

it's great to have a full house!

Seth's Birthday

Today my oldest nephew turned 24. He's only six years younger than me and we are more like brother and sister. It's great that he's moved here with us. Today for his birthday all he wanted was to watch two of his favorite teams played their games on TV. We ate a SuperMex feast and I got a nap becuase there were so many babysitters here to help with Santi.

After Glenda, Mitchie, Gabe, Marcus, Shelby, Laura and Joey left (and after helping my mom pack 4 trunks for Africa) Aunt Glenda, MOm, Beto , Seth and I watched a great movie about Thomas Kincade and now "Meet the Parents". This movie makes me so mad and nervous I can't watch it anymore. Beto just said "Ay Ay Ay." Right.

9:30

tonight i really will be in bed at 9:30. if i can type fast enough and beto gets done soon repairing the kitchen sink so i can clean up dinner.

santi didn't sleep well last night and finally i went to sleep on the couch. poor beto, but i got up at 7 and let him sleep till 9, when santi went down for his nap, more or less. i called it a midmorning nap but really if you think about it midmorning is 6am. 9am is nearly noon and should be called late morning.

today Beto and I "took seth shopping" for stuff he needed for Africa. He's going to see the Britton's with my mom next week. Beto and I got some stuff too. Of course, between Marshall's and Ross, neither of which impressed me at all today (Target is better with about the same prices, and you don't have to search and fight big crowds), of course we ate In N Out and oh what joy fills my heart when that happens.

Santi fell asleep in the car seat on the way home after only 1 minute in the seat. he didn't even make a wimper.

when we got home he slept and i went to target with my mom and got some more stuff for the brittons, but this time i won't divulge that info in case one of them is reading. surprise!

we watched a "Inside Man" (any movie with Denzel Washington is always extremely interesting) and mom made a lovely teriyaki salmon dinner. Santi went easily to bed as it was way past his bedtime.

i am very tired adn can't remember most of the funny stuff i wanted to say.

DANG IT!

That's Beto's learned "phrase of the day". and he used it asmuch as possible,sometimes very out of context, which made it all the more funny.
We went downtown today for Santi's citizenship appointment. We didn't have to wait long at all, maybe about an hour total. But finally we were told that we didnt' need to make an appt. that we should've waited till we got something in the mail. well, we filed the paperwork for this in July and figured that we needed to be proactive. But they said that we should hear something by the end of November, that they are behind and still working on cases that were filed before JUly. THis makes me nervous becuase his VISA expires Dec. 6 along with Beto's and we really want to be here for Christmas. Please pray about this.

So then we went to Sen. Boxer's office across the street to ask for a letter in favor of Beto to help us out when we go to refile his paperwork for a six month VISA extension.

We were going to go to Olvera st. for lunch but parking was $14, so we decided to go to Pasadena instead and were going to fart around in Old Towne but never found it. Well, we ate first at an amazing Thai food place called Nine in Nine or something like that and after that we were ready to go home. So this is where i tell about my love-hate relationship with Tom-Tom.
yes, the GPS machine. First of all, it makes me crazy! I know where I'm going, yet when "she" plans a different route, I begin to doubt myself. I grew up in this town with all these freeways and yet all of a sudden I feel like a tourist. except worse, becuase I know where I'm going but when "she" tells me to go a different way I freak out! and i stress out and i scream at the little machine. but then i realize, ok, maybe this way is better.
on the way home "she" told me to take the 110 to the 405 S(only locals may understand this next paragraph). but getting closer to the 405 from the carpool lane i decided that, at 3pm on a friday afternoon, the 105 to the 710 to the 405 may be faster. but then i doubt myself and take the 105 W instead of East. and i got sad that after riding those freeways between south central and Watts nearly everyday for two years, I can't remember! So i am going towards LAX and realized I needed to get off the freeway and get back on going East. And of course there was "merging" traffice, but eventually we got home.
And Santi did EXCELLENTLY! We are blessed with such a well-behaved, happy boy! Thank God.
Now Seth is home telling us of his fights at the Angels/Red Sox game here in LA where he went to root for Boston. Gma is never allowing him to go to another ballgame AGAIN!

Thursday or Friday?

All day today I kept thinking it was Friday and had to keep reminding myself that it's Thursday. Tomorrow we have an appt. downtown for Santi's citizenship status. Please pray for us.

Today I started like all days: singing three or four "good morning" songs to Santi as I changed his night diaper. Even though I don't "feel" like it I sing and then I start to feel like I sound: happy.

Seth took Beto to work for me so at about 9am Santi and I laid down for our 1.5 morning nap. Then we had lunch with Cindy at Jack in the Box and went to the thrift store. I got 6 skirts for my mom to take to my sister Mary in Africa for only $20. Love it!

Then I went home and made dinner for us and for a family friend who jus had a baby.

I had a great day with Santi. He loves to open his mouth wide and try to "kiss" me on the cheak but he just gets slobber everywhere. But he uses both hands to grab my hair or face. He also jumps up and down like a spring on my lap and is so happy and relaxed. He is eating carrots more this week which helps keep him occupied whenever we're eating.

After dinner Beto and I got some alone time at the grocery store. Not an ideal "date" but alone nonetheless for awhile to just chill. Idon't know why but i like grocery shopping. it relaxes me. unless i don't have a lot of money. then it's not really fun seeing stuff you can't buy.

came home and had a bowl of "Count Chocula"... afirst in probably 20 years. and now to bed. 10pm. done.

A blessed Day

Today mom and Seth arrived! They drove from Boston in Seth's car. They made it in five days, stopping first at my cousin Stephanie's house in NY, then at Seth's aunt's house in Iowa, In Denver where they got to dine with Linda and ashley beck, and finally last night in Vegas. Today Santi was up with me around 7. I love the quiet and peace of the cool fall mornings. I never was a morning person till santi was born. I still wish I could sleep in but find once i'm up i can't wait to start the day, and Santi makes it easy being such a happy kid. I made the coffee..fall flavor..mmm...and we played a little. I had breakfast and fed him some carrot pure which he seemed to like. i'm going to start feeding him more than just milk and cereal. but he already seems like he's got too big of a belly!
Beto slept in. He's been working with my uncle. my uncle owns an apt. building and a new tenant is about to move in so myuncle hired him just for the week to clean and paint the apt. I drove him to work and later had lunch again with Cindy and we took some money to her "nephew" at his school for a special event.

I was trying to get the house cleaned for mom's arrival. Santi had gotten up so early (at 5 but we didn't get out of bed till 7) that he took his first nap at 8:30! That certainly gives a different feeling to the day! So I got most the cleaning done when he was napping. I tried to clean while he was playing but he got fussy and i really have to watch him now because he's fast and has already had a few hard falls! poor guy! i ended up finishing my chores while mom was here but i got it all done. we went out to eat at one of my dad's most favorite restaurants. the owner is really nice and always talked to my parents whenever they'd go there, which was about once a week i imagine.

We then rented and watched Mama's Boy an now it's really time for me to go to bed.

Tuesday October 6, 2009

As I write that date I am reminded that it is my dad's birthday tomorrow. Please pray for our family. But on a lighter note, it is my Sister Glenda's and brother-in-law Charles' anniversary!
Today I was excited for the first time in a long time to get onto blogger because i feel like i have something to say. well, not anything too important, just what i did today.

last night we didn't sleep too well. Santi was up a lot and didn't want to go back to sleep. He's teething and had his 6 mo. vaccinations last wed. so he's going through a lot. He was up and ready though at about 7am. I don't know how he goes so strong and with so much joy without much sleep, especially for a baby. He did make a humongous poop in the night, his first in a few days. And as we all know, that;s enough to make anybody feel better.

I took Beto to my Uncle Bruce's apt. building at 9am. He's helping him get one apt. ready for a new tenant this week.
Santi and I went home and we both got about an hour nap, Praise the Lord!
"Aunt" Cindy called and we went out to lunch with her and then grocery shopping and she invited me to an "after-lunch tea" at Starbucks. We hung out at her house for awhile just talking and then it was time to pick Beto up from work already!
Now we're home and I've got teriyaki chicken and a butternut squash in the oven for dinner. There's leftover rice from last night's dinner and salad in a bag, my favorite thing ever, becuase we don't have those in Honduras.

I'm still experiencing short periods of headaches with dizziness so please pray for me about that.

Also, Beto didn't get his VISA extension request approved so we have to apply again. Please pray that he gets it so we can for sure stay until next June. His VISA expires in Dec. We could try to visit Guatemala for a few weeks and then fly back and they may give him another 6 mo. upon reentry, but the flight is costly and we're not wanting to take that chance that whoever is checking VISA's at the airport that day may not want to give him another 6 mo.

Vacation to the East Coast

It's been a week since we returned from our trip to the East Coast. We went to see my sister Amy in Boston and also went to NYC for a few days. Then we went to see our good friend Danielle and her family in Maryland for a couple of days. We spoke at her church to raise funds for our ministry in Honduras. It was a lot of fun and too short of a visit! But Santi doesn't mind. He gets spoiled everywhere! While we were there we took the train into DC for the day and saw as many important monuments as we could. And we walked it all! We were so tired and did not feel guilty about having McDonald's for dinner!
While in Maryland Beto also got to visit with his cousin who lives near DC and another Honduran friend surprised us by flying up from Honduras and staying in Maryland a couple of days of his East Coast trip.
We returned to Boston for one night and then were on the road again with the family to Vermont where we stayed for a few days. A lot of fun and we enjoyed to cold weather...until we all came down with colds.

At this moment I can't think well. It's 9:45pm and way past my bedtime. I'm going to try to blog everyday, thanks to Amber. My inspiration. It is too hard to try to catch up after two weeks of constant activity.

We returned to Boston for a couple of nights and had lunch with Christina Johnson, a friend from Long bEach who's studying at MIT. That was a lot of fun. I love boston and just sitting on the porch with amy drinking tea and talking. she and dave have raised an amazIng family! love you guys!

since we've returned we've been kind of laying low, trying to get well. Santi is teething on top of having had his six months vaccines and going to the cardiologist for a heart murmer, which is nothing to worry about thank God. Please pray for him and us. My mom is driving back with my nephew Seth and they are due to arrive Wednesday.
Beto didn't get an extension for his VISA so we are going to file another peticion so we can stay utnil JUne and not have to return in DEc. We have a lot of money to raise still. We have a disc now with all our info on it including the video if you're interested in helping us pass some out to people you think would be interested.
We are stying busy. Beto's helping my uncle paint his apt. that he's renting out to antoher new tenant soon and we are involved at our church here in Long Beach a little bit more. I find it hard to get anything done withthe baby except when he's in bed but when he's there i want to be sleeping too. So with that i will stop rambling and maybe write something better tomorrow.